History

There has long been advanced civilization in what is now Bangladesh, once the eastern part of a greater region called Bengal. There is recent evidence of civilizations dating back to 500 BC, and there are even claims of social structures from around 1000 BC. Early civilizations had Buddhist and/or Hindu influences. Northern Bangladesh has several sites of mass architecture, in the form of temples and monasteries, bearing proofs of such influences.

The Partition of India saw Bengal divided between the two new countries: an eastern part called East Bengal corresponding to what is now Bangladesh, and a western part, the Indian state of West Bengal. The abolition of the Zamindari system (which divided the society into lords, owners of property, and commoners, users of property) in East Bengal (1950) was a major landmark in Bangladesh's movement to a "people's state". The Language Movement of 1952 established the rights of the Bengali community to speak in their own language. Worth mentioning, this was the only revolution that was done solely for preserving the rights to speak a language and for this reason, UNESCO recognized 21 February as International Mother Language Day. In 1955, the government of Pakistan changed the name of the province from East Bengal to East Pakistan.

East Pakistan was dominated and neglected by West Pakistan, which comprised the rest of Pakistan (West Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, and the Northwest Frontier Province). The frequent exploitation of the majority Bengalis by the minority non-Bengalis infuriated people on both sides of Pakistan. The tensions peaked in 1971, following an open, non-democratic denial by Pakistani president Yahya Khan, a military ruler, of election results that gave the Awami League an overwhelming majority in the parliament (167 out of 169 seats allocated for East Pakistan) [1] (http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/G_0075.HTM).

Under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also known as B?bondhu (Friend of Bengal), Bangladesh started its struggle for independence. The official onset followed one of the bloodiest genocides of recent times carried out by the Pakistan army on Bengali civilians on 25 March1971. Virtually the entire Bengali intelligentsia was eliminated. This genocide is one of the most horrible in terms of death toll in post World War II history. Owing to West Pakistan's effort to rid the country of foreign journalists, accurate numbers are difficult to get, but some estimates claim 50,000 deaths in the first three days of the so-called Operation Searchlight of the Pakistan Army [2] (http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/G_0075.HTM). More than ten million Bengalis fled to neighbouring India.

The Bangladeshi Liberation War took place during the Cold War period. The United States and the People's Republic of China, considering the war an internal affair of Pakistan, preferred to back West Pakistan. However, India, the USSR and her allies and general masses in Japan, and Western countries stood solidly behind Bangladesh. To gain strategic advantage over the Sino-US-Pakistan axis, the Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty was signed on 9 August 1971." [3] (http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/G_0075.HTM)

India, owing to its geographical position and military antagonism towards Pakistan, vehemently backed the Liberation War, especially after the USSR backed its motives. Strategically, independence of Bangladesh would mean one fewer front to fight Pakistan on. Also worth mentioning is that certain regional governments gave support based on ethnic grounds. On 27 March 1971, Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, expressed full support of her Government to the struggle for freedom. The Bangladesh-India border was opened to allow the tortured and panic-stricken Bengalis to have safe shelter in India. The governments of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura established refugee camps along the border. These camps became ready ground for recruitment of the freedom fighters. The headquarters of the Bangladesh Forces was established at 8 Theatre Road, Calcutta which started functioning from 12 April 1971. Lieutenant Colonel M. A. Rab and Group Captain A. K. Khandaker were appointed as Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff respectively. [4] (http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/G_0075.HTM)

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, being identified as a major influencer of the Bengalis, was arrested by the Pakistani Government. Before he was arrested, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman made an formal and official declaration of Independence on 26 March. Hence 26 March is considered as the Independence Day of Bangladesh. First M A Hannan on 26 March and later on 27 MarchZiaur Rahman, an army major then, and President of Bangladesh much later, declared the Independence of Bangladesh, on behalf of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, using a makeshift radio transmitter from Kalurghat near the port city of Chittagong. (Although, some people of Bangladesh, particularly members of Bangladesh Nationalist Party say that he was the man who declared independence of Bangladesh first). With help of Bengali officers in the army, support of civilians and military/humanitarian aid from India, Bangladesh quickly put together Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighters), an armed group formed mostly of young students, workers, farmers and other civilians. Besides harassing attacks on the resident Pakistani army, the Mukti Bahini provided local intelligence and guidance of immense value to the three corps of the Indian army which attacked the occupying West Pakistani army of 80,000 in early December 1971.

Within two weeks of the Indian invasion the Lieutenant-General A. A. K. Niazi of the Pakistan army surrendered to the Indian army on 16 December1971. India took 93,000 prisoners of war who were held in camps in India to avoid reprisals by an enraged Bangladeshi population. The new nation of Bangladesh effectively came into being and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who had been incarcerated in West Pakistan since March, returned triumphantly as the first Prime Minister of the new nation. India withdrew its troops from Bangladesh within three months of the war. Pakistan, aided by its supporters in Bangladesh, committed war crimes before and during the war and memories of Bangladeshis remain scarred to this day.

After the war, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the Prime Minister and later the President of Bangladesh. He along with most of his family were massacred by a group of disgruntled Army officers on 15 August1975. Following his death, (Major General) Khaled Mosharraf led a military coup on 3 November1975. Khaled Mosharraf was killed in a counter coup on 7 November 1975 in the Dhaka cantonment culminating in General Ziaur Rahman gaining power. He later gained the Presidency. But in 1981, he was killed in yet another coup, in Chittagong. In 1982 General Hossain Mohammad Ershad staged a bloodless coup and deposed the president Ahsan Uddin Choudhury, a former Supreme Court Justice. Ershad later declared himself President and started a new political party named Janadal, which he later renamed as Jatiya Party. The rule of Ershad continued until 1990. A popular uprising forced Ershad to resign and give way to a parliamentary democracy. Since then, Bangladesh has been ruled by three democratically elected governments.

The prime minister is appointed by the president and must be a member of parliament (MP) who the president feels commands the confidence of the majority of other MPs. The cabinet is composed of ministers selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president.

The unicameral Bangladeshi parliament is the House of the Nation or Jatiya Sangsad, whose 300 members are elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies for five-year terms of office. The highest judiciary body is the Supreme Court, of which the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president.

The next level of administrative unit is a district or Zila (in Bangla). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh. For more information, see Districts of Bangladesh.

Each district is further subdivided into Thana or Police stations (formerly called upa-zila or sub-districts). Each police station, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions. The unions consist of many villages. In the metropolitan areas, the unit is a ward, which consists of several mahalla or areas.

Economy

Fishermen near the town of Cox's Bazaar in southern Bangladesh. Many industries in Bangladesh are still primitive by modern standards.

Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a underdeveloped, overpopulated, and ill-governed nation. Although more than half of the GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single most important product.

Among other crops, Jute has been the major foreign exchange earnings cash crop from Bangladesh. Almost 70% of the export earnings of Bangladesh came from Jute immediatly after the independence. Jute is the second Natural Fiber widely cultivated in the world after cotton. And Bangladesh is the major producer of Jute in the world.

However, major portion of the export earnings of Bangladesh comes from the Garments Industry. During the 80s, the garments sector in Bangladesh boomed very rapidly. This was possible because of the very low cost labor, which the attracted the foriegn investors to invest in the garments sector. The garments sector has developed a comprehensive network of businesses in Bangladesh. Starting from yarn, lables, accesories, farbics, to ready made garments sector have flourished quite rapidly. The garments industry employs almost 40% of the female population in Bangladesh.

Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, mismanaged port facilities, a rapidly growing labour force that has not been absorbed by agriculture, inefficient use of energy resources (such as natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms, caused by political infighting and corruption. In 2001 (http://www.transparency.org/cpi/2001/cpi2001.html), 2002 (http://www.transparency.org/pressreleases_archive/2002/2002.08.28.cpi.en.html), and 2003 (http://www.transparency.org/pressreleases_archive/2003/2003.10.07.cpi.en.html), Transparency International's surveys ranked Bangladesh as the World's most corrupt country.

Since June2004 Bangladesh has been ravaged by its worst floods in six years, which have killed 628 people so far and covered about 60% of the country. About 20 million people are in need of food aid on account of damaged crops, and the textile industry which earns 80% of the country's export earnings has been disrupted. Officials estimate that the damage incurred could approach US$7 billion (Yahoo!News) (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040804/ap_on_re_as/south_asia_floods_1).

Bangladesh is ethnically homogenous, with Bengalis comprising 98% of the population. The vast majority speak Bangla, or Bengali. The remaining two percent are mainly Urdu-speaking, non-Bengali Muslims from regions of India such as Bihar. A substantial number of non-Bengali tribal groups inhabit the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast and the Northern regions Bangladesh, including parts of the districts of Mymensingh, Sylhet, Rangpur. Almost all non-Bengali Bangladeshis speak Bangla as a second language.

In the mid-eighties, the government began promoting birth control to slow population growth, but with limited success. However, the Government has gained considerable success in preventing the spread of many childhood diseases, through an effective nationwide immunisation policy.

Many are landless or forced to inhabit hazardous floodplains, with the consequence of rampant water-borne disease. In an effort to stem the spread of pathogens like cholera and dysentery, international organizations began to promote well-drilling throughout the nation. Several years after widespread implementation of the programme, over a quarter of the population exhibited symptoms of arsenic poisoning. High levels of naturally occurring arsenic in the water table of certain regions has not been accounted for. The effects of arsenic-tainted water still remain a problem.

Sports

Sports and games form an integral part of Bangladeshi's life. In the villages one might see a group of kids kicking a football, or in some dusty alley one might see kids playing cricket. Though Bangladesh is not a major sporting power in any sense, Bangladeshi athletes and sportspersons have brought her many laurels. Kabadi is the national game of Bangladesh, though recently cricket has gained popularity in the urban areas.

Education

Education in Bangladesh is highly subsidized by the Government, which operates many schools and colleges in the primary, secondary and higher secondary level as well as many public universities. The whole country is divided into seven education boards (Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Jessore, Barishal, Sylhet and Comilla Education Boards) which oversee education from the primary to the higher secondary level, and conduct the primary and junior scholarship examinations, the Secondary School Certificate examination, and the Higher Secondary Certificate examination. The Government also provides a large portion of the salaries of the teachers in non-government schools. To promote literacy among women, education is free upto the higher secondery level for female students. There is also a Government-funded program which gives incentives like stipends and food for continuing education in the secondary level.